1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to label printing systems. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and apparatus for printing bar code labels in several different languages.
2. The Prior Art
Bar code labels are a necessary component in the automatic identification industry and are prevalent in every area of modern commerce and government. Many bar code labels include text that allows users to understand relevant information about the thing that is being labeled, without the use of a bar code scanner. Because an item labeled with a bar code label may pass through several countries or may be read by different people who understand different languages, many bar code labels must be printed with text in more than one language.
As shown in FIG. 1A, one of the most common bar code label types is the Universal Product Code (UPC) label 1, which is commonly applied to almost any kind of merchandise. UPC labels comprise a bar code 2 identifying a product and often include text describing the goods being sold. If the market for the goods includes people who understand more than one language, then the retailer has a competitive advantage if its UPC labels include descriptive text written in the language of the customers. For example, a Chinese foods market in the United States would have an advantage if its UPC labels included both text written in English 3 and text written in Chinese characters 4.
Compliance labels 5 are bar code labels applied to goods that comprise information necessary to meet a standard issued by a government or a business. For example, major retailers have issued standards for label format and content that must be met by any supplier that hopes to do business with the retailer. Also, many governments have issued standards for compliance labels to be applied to all goods entering their respective countries to help prevent smuggling. Businesses involved in international distribution must meet standards issued by both the retailers receiving goods and the governments to which the goods are exported.
Many compliance label standards require information in text and bar coded information that allows for use of an automated identification system. Such standards often require that each unit of merchandise be labeled with a label that includes: a description of goods being shipped in the language of the country from which the goods are being shipped, a description of goods in the language of the country to which the goods are being shipped, a first bar code that includes a serial number of the goods and a bar code that includes information regarding shipping instructions. For example, one wishing to supply a retailer in the Ukraine with goods may be required to ship the goods under a label that includes a description of the goods in English, a second description of the goods in Ukrainian (in the Cyrillic alphabet), a bar code that includes the retailer's serial number and a bar code that includes instructions for shipping the goods to the retailer's distribution point.
A shown in FIG. 1B, a complex compliance label 5 for shipping dolls to Israel might include a UPC bar code 6 for identifying a product, a second bar code 7 (in a second bar code standard such as code 3 of 9, shown here) encoding shipping information, descriptive Hebrew text 8 and similar text 9 in English. As will be appreciated, there are many different standards for compliance labels, many of which are quite complex.
Current bar code label printing systems display an image of a bar code label on a screen. The user selects format options and enters necessary information, which is displayed on the label. Once the user is satisfied with the appearance of the label on the screen, a print instruction is given to the system, which prints the label. Existing systems allow for printing in only one language. Adding another language to the system requires customization of the system, and then every label generated by the customized system will include the additional language.
Current systems do not allow the user to select from several languages when generating the label. For example, if an exporter needed bar code labels for items being exported to Russia, custom bar code printing software would have to be generated that would allow the user to print bar code labels using the Cyrillic alphabet. Such software would not allow the exporter to select another language, for example Mandarin. If the exporter received an order from China requiring bar code labels in Mandarin, the exporter would have to have its label printing system custom adapted to handle Mandarin. Thus, the prior art has the disadvantage that changing languages is costly, time consuming and inefficient.
Many organizations required to use compliance labels with text in a language not supported by their bar code label printing system will first print text in the non-supported language (e.g., Ukrainian) using a word processor onto a blank piece of paper. The text will then be copied onto label blanks using an ordinary copier. Then the label blanks are run through a bar code printer that applies the bar code and any required text in the language (e.g., English) supported by the bar code label printing system. This process has the disadvantages of being costly and prone to error.
Nowhere does the prior art disclose a method or apparatus for printing bar coded labels that allows the user to generate text in a plurality of language fonts.